registering

[kenkeo]

I was wondering is it possible to register you car before it arrives. Mine is coming in soon and i need my irish reg to insure it. any one know if this is possible? Cheers

[kevinod]

I don't think so... the VRT guys need to inspect the car (verify the car VIN is the one in the docs), and then after that they give you your registration number.

Unless Al can suggest something?

[PT FTO]

Nope, car must be present when regestering and paying VRT. But proceedure very quick. Just bring car to your local office straight from docks and whole process should not cost you more than half hour...................oh and a couple of €€€€€€ in VRT

[Myfeckin FTO]

You should be able to insure your car against the VIN number untill you get it registered. I've done it a couple of times myself.

[kenkeo]

only problem is quinn wont insure a de3a import (according to website)so was going to try and get my irish plate and insure it as gpx. not telling them its an import

[Daz]

only problem is quinn wont insure a de3a import (according to website)so was going to try and get my irish plate and insure it as gpx. not telling them its an import

It don't matter if you have bought a car from another irish owner it will always be listed on their database as an import.

Daz...

[colm_mcm]

they're all imports!

[AL]

vrt can only be paid after car is inspected, this is what they officially say

but ive brought in cars before, that i simply left at the docks and went to tallaght to get them vrt, i was asked if my car was there to be inspected and i said it was parked a little bit away from the centre. the inspectors seemed reluctant to walk any distance to see the car and proceeded to stamp/fill in all the remaining details. now at this stage when you get your reg number you can ring your insurance company, insure it there and then, and go collect it from dock.

i tried before to insure a car against me getting it vrt'd later that day, FBD said they needed a reg plate before they would proceed to cover it, but MyFeckin said he has done it before, so i guess you just need to catch the insurance companies on a good day .

[Myfeckin FTO]

I have always paid my VRT in Ennis or Limerick on the few cars I imported so I needed to insure them to bring them down from Dublin docks. When this was explained to my insurer - be it Allianz or Hibernian or St Paul - through my friendly local broker - then there was apparently no problem in insuring against the VIN number - in fact I have had cars insured against the VIN number for anything up to 10 days.

BTW - nobody has ever inspected my car when I pay the VRT in Ennis - even though there is ample parking outside the door. VRT can vary according to your car spec and mileage so its easy to reduce your VRT by just saying you have a base spec car with high mileage.

What you need to keep an eye on is those pesky Customs Officers that seem to just drive around spotting foreign reg or unreg cars. I wasn't on the road an hour in the Zed (on my way back from the VRT office having paid my VRT to the Motor Tax office) when I got pulled by customs at a set of traffic lights - it was like a drugs bust - they weren't even happy that I had paid my VRT and was in the process of trying to register my car (and this was within just 24hours of actually picking it up) - still had to answer a load of stupid questions before they let me on my way.

[kevinod]

I got mine insured on the VIN to drive from Dublin to Cork, but I think driving without current tax disc & insurance disc & number plate is technically illegal, and you can't insure anything thats illegal, so was I really insured? I don't know. If push came to shove I don't know if I'd have had much comeback.

Ideal situation would be (as someone said) to bring the car on the back of a low loader to the VRT office, have it inspected and pay the VRT. Then you're in a much better position.

[CJ]

IIRC, if the cars OMSP is under 10k, the Revenue won't bother inspecting it.

CJ

[kevinod]

IIRC, if the cars OMSP is under 10k, the Revenue won't bother inspecting it.

CJ

My VRT was about 1600 (30% OMSP I think it was) which meant the OMSP was well under the 10k... the inspection only involved looking at the VIN, and looking at the docs, they matched, guy was happy.

[Myfeckin FTO]

IIRC, if the cars OMSP is under 10k, the Revenue won't bother inspecting it.

CJ

Perhaps - though my Zed was a "little" over this. In fact my VRT alone was circa 10K for an ST spec with 20,000 miles. I lowered the spec and changed around the reg month and mileage a little on the online quote thingy and this brought it down to circa €8800. Then armed with said printout I paid the VRT accordingly. To be honest theres nobody in the VRT office who could have told a base spec apart from an ST spec in any case no more than they could tell the difference between a GPX or GPvR.

[Mustang]

My two cents worth. A used jap import is inspected at point of entry by customs officials. For Vat, duty and VRT purposes. As a private individual you have to pay the VAT and duty to 'clear' the car and remove it from the port. As part of that inspection the car is assesed for VRT, and the relevant official will fill in the form accordingly, with the relevant statistical code. There is, as I understand it, no need to actually take the vehicle to the VRO, as it has already been inspected at point of entry.

It would be a different, as I understand it, if for instance you imported a car from the UK and wanted to register it here. You would have to present it for inspection at the VRO as, it would not have previously been inpected by a customs official.

As regards driving without a reg no. displayed. It seems that insurance companies will cover you. It also seems that the revenue don't mind, and will allow a certain amount of grace so long as you make yourself known to them. Some VRO's do not open to the public everyday. That only leaves the Gardai, who I suspect would not be too happy.

I asked a garda friend of mine, and he said it would be illegal based on the fact that you would not have a tax disc. Now if that was the only issue, then it's really not an issue as far as I'm concerned.

What if you had an accident, ran someone over, and left the scene -no reg plate on the car to identify the vehicle.....

[CJ]

It would be a different, as I understand it, if for instance you imported a car from the UK and wanted to register it here. You would have to present it for inspection at the VRO as, it would not have previously been inpected by a customs official.

When I brought the Rex in from the UK, no one looked at the car in the VRO, maybe different centres operate different policies?

CJ

[Mustang]

It would be a different, as I understand it, if for instance you imported a car from the UK and wanted to register it here. You would have to present it for inspection at the VRO as, it would not have previously been inpected by a customs official.

When I brought the Rex in from the UK, no one looked at the car in the VRO, maybe different centres operate different policies?

CJ

Yes well my understanding is that it is up to the discretion of the particular VRO/ officer.And you would have to make the car available for inspection if requested. They do not inspect every car. And I'd say those that are inspected only get a cursory glance.

[Bernard]

It would be a different, as I understand it, if for instance you imported a car from the UK and wanted to register it here. You would have to present it for inspection at the VRO as, it would not have previously been inpected by a customs official.

When I brought the Rex in from the UK, no one looked at the car in the VRO, maybe different centres operate different policies?

CJ

Yes well my understanding is that it is up to the discretion of the particular VRO/ officer.And you would have to make the car available for inspection if requested. They do not inspect every car. And I'd say those that are inspected only get a cursory glance.

When I brought mine in from the UK I was asked if I had it with me.
I said I didn't because I didn't have a reg. number to insure it yet
It wasn't a problem, I was only there ten minutes.